LANCASTER, Pa. — Authorities in Lancaster County have filed additional charges against a Lancaster man already accused of committing sexual assault in a 1997 cold case and possession of child pornography after a search of his home in August 2023.
Eric Dorwart, 55, of the 500 block of Pleasure Road, is facing a new set of charges, including indecent assault of a person less than 13, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor and indecent exposure, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced Monday.
He was charged after police recovered a sequence of images from Dorwart’s electronics that depicted Dorwart engaging in paraphilic sexual behavior involving feet with a juvenile victim, the DA's Office said.
A blanket captured in the background of one of the images matched a blanket found at Dorwart’s residence during the August 2023 search warrant, according to prosecutors.
Pennsylvania State Police executed the search warrant and found two laptops and an iPhone in August 2023.
A subsequent search warrant on the iPhone yielded approximately 464 images of fetish material with 61 images consistent with child pornography involving infant and toddler-aged victims.
Search warrants executed on the laptops indicated there were 1,672 images consistent with child pornography, prosecutors claim. Of those images, 167 were identified as Dorwart engaged in sexual contact with three separate underage victims, the DA's Office said.
Pennsylvania State Police are continuing their attempts to identify the victims, who were discovered to be infants that the Dorwart family may have babysat, according to prosecutors.
Anyone with information who can assist in identifying the victims and any additional potential victims can contact Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Dakota Baer or Brian McNally at 717-299-7650.
Dorwart was charged in Oct. 2023 for a cold-case sexual assault occurring in 1997 outside of the victims’ home in Gordonville, Leacock Township. He is charged with sexually assaulting a 7-year-old and 5-year-old victim in that case.
DNA evidence was collected in 1997 and the suspect containing that DNA profile was charged in 2002.
From 2002 through 2022, the suspect’s DNA profile yielded negative results when periodically checked in CODIS. Investigators eventually identified Dorwart as a suspect and removed trash from the front of his residence that was left at the end of the driveway for street pickup on May 8, 2023.
Pennsylvania State Police investigators swabbed items recovered from the trash for DNA and on July 17, 2023, a review from the forensic DNA laboratory showed the DNA profile obtained from the trash matched the DNA saved as evidence from the sexual assault in 1997.
Dorwart waived his preliminary hearing on Oct. 17, 2023, on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 13, indecent assault of a person less than 15, and two counts of corruption of minors and will face those charges in Lancaster County Court.
Dorwart was released on $25,000 unsecured bail on the cold case charges. He agreed to a stipulated preliminary hearing on Feb. 20, for the second set of charges and posted $250,000 bail.
Magisterial District Judge Courtney Monson granted Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick’s request to set a condition for Dorwart to have no contact with juveniles, according to prosecutors.
